IN THE SHADOW OF THE MAFIA

an's

businessman, Damian," he'd said during our first meeting, leaning back in his chair with the ease of a predator. "I d

my salvation. The terms didn't seem so bad at first. Sure, the interest wa

it w

started small, selling what little I could spare-an old watch, a few keepsakes I didn't

er's legacy, the only thing tying me to the man who had worked so hard to build

work I could find, trying to get a loan to cover the debt. They took

lack of collateral make it impossible for us to approve your loan request. Perhaps you should se

ried gambling again, hoping for a lucky break, but the losses only piled high

ck from a meeting with one of my father's old business partners, hoping to co

hen they

hree men in dark suits emerged, their faces cold and unreadable. One of them yank

" I shouted, struggling

one of them said, his voice

a dimly lit room, my hands tied behind my back. Marco was s

me, Damian," he said

get your money," I sp

s dark eyes narrowing. "Trying isn

ward and delivered a sharp punch to my stomach. Pa

e weather. "And if you don't pay up soon, I'll start collecting in o

let Marco touch Hera-not because I cared a

of a solution, my mind racing with

is mess. She was holding onto something that

the rightful heir, but my grandfathe

luding the inheritance-would become his. And if it be

Hera. I explained everything-her connection to our grandfather's inhe

each detail I revealed. When I finished, he leaned bac

the desk. "You've surprised me, Damian. I didn't

. "It's just business. She's not my real sis

in my side for years, a constant reminder of everything I hated about my fa

er little bubble, dreaming of some magical escape with the inheritance she thought was hers. But

s a powerful man who knew how to handle himself. H

, but he kept it. I convinced myself he wouldn't harm her, well not that I care if